A High-Speed Police Chase Ends in At Least Ten Deaths in Dinuba, California

Debates are high regarding a police chase that ended with the death of eight people, five of which were innocent of any crime. Last week in Dinuba (near Fresno), California, a police car began chasing a vehicle that ran a stop sign at more than 80 miles per hour. The officer continued the chase when the drive ran yet another stop sign just a few miles down the road. The officer called for help in the chase from a California Highway Patrol helicopter, but just a few minutes following the call, the frenzied driver crashed into a pickup truck carrying two adults and their five children. The family was on their way to a football game when the fatal crash occurred.

Four of the five children were thrown from the backseat of the pickup truck and died before rescuers could even get them to the hospital. The remaining child’s died at the hospital just a little while later because of severe injuries. Neither of the parents died, but both remain even now in critical condition in the hospital. It is unknown whether or not they will make a full recovery from their injuries or even survive. It appears that none of the five children, whose ages were 8, 7, 4, 3, and 1, were buckled up in the backseat of the pickup truck. It would be speculation to say that if the children had been properly buckled into their seats they would have survived the crash, because the vehicle that struck them at over 80 miles per hour did an incredible amount of damage to the front end of the vehicle. Such a crash is difficult for anyone to walk away from, especially children. But the possibility of survival would have the potential to be much greater had the children been in seatbelts. The severity of injuries that the parents incurred may have also been much less had they been wearing seatbelts as well.

All three men in the speeding vehicle died, and all three were later discovered to be involved in the robbery earlier the same day of the vehicle they were driving at the time of the crash. The young men were ages 16, 17, and 19. It is uncertain what the injured parents will do in this case if and when they are able to gain consciousness and heal from their injuries. It is very possible that they will seek the help of a Fresno personal injury attorney. Many accident victims, along with the families of those who have been fatal victims of car accidents, contact personal injury attorneys for help in filing injury claims. These types of injury claims, when won, can help families receive financial compensation for the pain and suffering they’ve incurred, as well as the medical expenses that have begun to add up. The parents in this car accident will likely have a multitude of medical bills for which they may not truly be responsible or able to pay once they have recovered from the accident.